Among evangelical Christians in the United States, positions on women in leadership are polarizing into two main camps, most often labeled complementarian and egalitarian. Both camps can at times be uncharitable toward the other, and caricature is not uncommon. Both camps use scripture to justify their position; both are serious about respecting the authority of the Bible.

In short, complementarians believe that certain roles should be filled only by men. The complementarian view is that women and men are equal in value and personhood before God, but have different roles to fill in the church or family. One-point complementarians believe that women have different roles in marriage and family, while two-point complementarians believe that women have different roles in family and in the church. In particular, certain roles such as pastor and other leadership roles are not open to women, and (generally) women are not allowed to preach or teach in public worship if the meeting includes men. There are variations in practice, with more or less tolerance of exceptions for particularly gifted women with high-profile public ministries. Wayne Grudem and John Piper are leaders among two-point complementarians who are associated with the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. On occasion, complementarian thought is referred to as hierarchicalism by egalitarians; though this terminology seems not to be preferred by leading complementarians.

Also in short, egalitarians believe that ministry roles are interchangeable between men and women who are equally gifted. (This position is also known as biblical equality.) The egalitarian view is that all people are equal before God and have the responsibility to obey any God-given calling to exercise the spiritual gifts God has given them. Gender alone does not prevent any believer from exercising their spiritual gifts in obedience to God’s call to a ministry in the church or home; Gender alone does not grant privileges to any believer; no position within church leadership is reserved for one gender only. Those who hold this view do not believe that women and men are identical with no differences between them. Somewhat ironically, an expression common among egalitarians is that God has designed men and women to complement one another. Rebecca Merrill Groothuis and Gordon Fee are prominent egalitarian writers. An organization representing this view is Christians for Biblical Equality.

It is important to note that both of these groups are conservative and Protestant. Both believe in the primary authority of scripture as standing above any church tradition or human tradition; for both groups, scripture takes precedence over anything that seems to contradict it. Both groups exhibit a serious desire to be faithful to both God and scripture. (Of course, there are some holding either of these positions who do not match this description. Disagreement with those who are not committed to the authority of scripture is not addressed here.) Those with whom we disagree on a particular issue but who otherwise show every indication of being faithful followers of Christ deserve our charity and respect. This is a disagreement between followers of Christ – children of God. We must approach it with humility and love for God, for one another, and for truth.

Sarah Sumner, in her book addressing this issue, Men and Women in the Church, writes:

God has not called me to enter the debate and settle the matter conclusively. He has called me to something higher and more painful. He has called me to repent from my sins, speak the truth, suffer for his sake, love other people and entrust myself to him who judges righteously. This is his call to all believers. In the past we have failed to follow in his steps. But that’s no excuse. It’s not too late now to make a better decision.

May we heed this advice.

Addendum: There are two additional views worth mentioning for the sake of completeness. One, which has some traction among conservative Evangelicals is called Biblical Patriarchy. This view might be characterized as “three-point complementarianism”. According to this view, males should be in leadership in church, home, and society; that is, women should have no leadership in society and indeed, should not work outside of the home.

A fourth view is “Christian Feminism”. This view distinguishes itself from the egalitarian position in that it seeks to redefine God in terms that contradict biblical teaching, giving contemporary feminist ideas precedence over scripture.

It seems to me that both the Biblical Patriarchy and Christian Feminism views are quite extreme. The Christian Feminism view seems not to take seriously the teaching of scripture. The Biblical Patriarchy view is a more extreme form of complementarianism that need not be considered separately. In my view, these positions have glaring deficiencies and are rarely considered viable options for evangelicals today; they will not be considered further in these articles.

Next: 3. Observations on the Two Positions